Aircraft aerial and control



y 1935 wQG. LOGUE AIRCRAFT AERIAL AND CONTROL Filed Jan. 10, 1955 INVENTOR WYL\E.G. LQGUE 7% Z ATTORNEY Patented July 21, 1936 1 UNITED STATES AIRCRAFT AERIAL AND CONTROL Wylie Logue, Mineola, N. Y., assignor to Radio Corporation of America, a corporation of Delaware Application January 10, 1935, Serial No. 1,094

7 Claims.

Thislnvention relates to an aerial system to be utilized on aircraft. The aerial may be utilized for receiving or transmitting radiant energy. By the term aircraft as used hereinafter throughout the specification, I means lighter or heavier-.- than-air craft.

At one stage in the development of aircraft cruising speeds of about miles an hour were the standard. Later the cruising speed of heavier-than-air craft was raised somewhat to say about miles an hour. Recently the cruising speeds of aircraft has been raised'to about 200 miles per hour. At the lower cruising speeds, the aircraftantenna system often comprised a conductor or conductors connected between supports on the wing tips of the plane and the fin adjacent the steering rudder. In many other cases an antenna of the pole type was used. These antennae were satisfactory and remained a standard until aircraft cruising speeds increased above about 125 miles an hour from which speeds or upwards such antenna became a large factorin reduction of speed due to wind resistance, drag, etc. In orderto eliminate this additional wind resistance, trailing wire antennae are used in spite of their deficency electrically because they are more favorable as regards wind resistance than the fixed antenna. In many cases these trailing antennae comprise a linear conductor drawn out behind the plane during its travel by means of its own weight or by means of what has been termed a fish. What has been termed a fish is a weight of some form. The trailing antenna has become an accepted standard to a certain extent today. 'Weights are dangerous and unsatisfactory since they often fall off or strike objects in the path of the plane and are torn loose with or without the aerial. In addition to the danger of such use, the replacement cost is quite high.

The trailing antennae when used without a weight are allowed to trail at all times both on the ground and in the air, and during landings and take-offs. The trailing antenna is very satisfactory in operation but it wears out extremely fast from movement of the aircraft on the ground and in touching the ground during the landing and take-off. Maintenance cost is therefore high since the standard trailing, antenna lasts for comparatively few hours.

An object of the present invention is to provide an aerial of the trailing wire type which is efficient in operation, and the use of which is not attended by difiiculties such as mentioned briefly above.

The above object and others are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by utilizing a trailing antenna wire one terminal of which is connected to a spring biased reel, and the other terminal of which is connected to a windsock. The tension of the spring in the reel is adjusted in such a manner that the lengthof the antenna exposed is commensurate with the speed of the craft. When the craft is on the ground, the reel may be regulated to wind the antenna in so that little or none of it is exposed. The antenna therefore cannot trail on the ground. As the plane takes off and gains speed, the windsock draws the antenna out against the spring tension an extent determined by the pull on the wind-sock and consequently the speed .at which the plane is traveling. Means is also provided whereby the antenna may be locked in any extent of exposure or may be reeled in or out by hand.

The novel features of my invention have been pointed out with particularityin the appended claims. The nature of my invention and the manner in which the same is carried out willbe better understood by the following description thereof when read in connection with the attached drawing in which:

Fig. 1 illustrates diagrammatically the essential features of an antenna system for use on aircraft, and one manner of arranging said antenna system on the fuselage of a plane;

Fig. 2 shows the details of the antenna reel illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 1, while Fig. 3 is a view of the antenna reel of Fig. 2 when observed from the left hand side thereof.

As shown in Fig. 1, the antenna may comprise a linear conductor which for convenience passes 3 from the reel through a fair lead or guide in the aircraft fuselage to extend away from the tail thereof. The antenna conductor may be further guided by means of a pulley or frictionless guide mounted on the fin of the plane above therudder. The terminal of the linear conductor may be connected as shown to one terminal of a swivel, the otherv terminal of which may be connected as shown to a wind-sock.

The reel may comprise a main casting or housing I which consists of a strong light weight metal, such as duralumin or aluminum, containing bronze bearings in which a steel shaft S is rotated and to which the insulated winding form 2 is secured by means of a deeply countersunk locking screw X. To one end of this shaft is attached an auxiliary handle 3 for reeling the wire or conductor in and out by hand for test purposes etc. To the other end of the shaft S is attached the main driving gear 5. The gear 5 is locked by a screw Y to that portion of the shaft S which extends beyond the housing. The form 2 is as shown spaced from the housing uprights by washers W, asshown. r g

5 When in position for automatic operation, the driving gear 5 engages a'separately mounted l spring gear 6 as shown more clearly in Fig. 3. This latter gear turnslon' a steel shaft ,SS, which .is.

locked intothehousing at Z and is fitted witha:

10 collar or hollow shaft ID to which the inner end of a spiral spring 9 is secured as shown in Fig.

3.. The outer end of this spring 9 is secured to the housing at l I. In order to adjust tlie spring itene sion to vcompensate for'variousair. speeds and! wind-sock sizes, a spring ,adjustrnentjhfandl, 'l"v with locking nut 8 is provided arranged as shown.

' To increase or decrease spring tension, the locking nut is backed-off from the spiral threaded end of 58 a suflicient' distance to permit the disen a e- 1 ment of the teeth on the two main gears 5 and 6,

and the-spring 9 -may then be turned or tensioned bydr'and in the dir ection desired. Thekgears 5 and G 'are then .rewngaged by :pressure on -theadjusting h'andle 1 and the 'l ock nut 8 on: the spiral 251 threads is tig'litened'iagain'st the'handlel.

"reeledein position orat some intermedateposi- 7 tion-. This may-:be--aocomplished in accordance with-ithe apresent invention by means of a' lock v consistingmfi acpointed steel pin: l2 engaging the 40- teethmf lithe-driving. gear 5 iunder action of r:a -c0i1; steel springzllr The-position ofi thesteel pin I2) l 7 may be remotely econtrolled by means. of 'austeeli V wire=.,lfiroperatingzover-pulleys including [8 .01" throughaaflexiblershaft from anynonvenient pointadjacent the operator. :To .control then-antenna: bynrthis remoteracontrol, the. pin: lZi'iS' disengaged fromdoetweensthezteeth:of'gear:wheel 5 ;byiapply ingztensionsto theeWireJI 6'; By :fasteningihewirer 16 in the tensionediposition,,thezpin lzamayabe: fidmaintainedrdisengaged fromrthe gear wheel:

The winding form-.12 may be:of insulated. matee rialiiqor it may beguof: metal. j In. the latter case, therentir'e' "W-hBBliiWOllld-i136;11013 and .Ethe .base should-ithembe insulated. If Fithe windingrfornris 5 ofizinsnlatedsimaterial, connection ,to the radiojina strumentsgmayrbe-zmade .througha brush ,connecr, tion restingzonthepantennawire-at any conven ierrtzpoint; ,7 p

r 'Bygshdwingi'the reeliniamertain position, applicamtdoesinot intendzto bezlimited therebysince, ol: yio1.1sly;,-:v the; reel"... may; be moved i to; differentpointszinzthe aircraft fuselage and may;be;posi.-:- tionediinrdifierentamanners at the desired: point;

I claim:

-thepullloflsaidlairfiow resistance elementis 'pendencempomwind:pressure for exerting a ya- 1. In combination, a reel to be used for carrying and controlling the extent to which anlinear conductor is wound thereon, an air-drag member attached to the outer end of said conductor, a spool member to which said conductor is at- 5 tached, a gear connected to said spool, a' second gear in meshpwith said first named gear, andf' means. including aispring motor connected with saidsecondi gearand operative to produce such a Winding torque 'on said spool as to balance the variable effect of said air-drag member on the 1 degree of extension of said conductor. 7 V

In arr aircraft antenna and control device thereor,.,a.,.flexiblelinear conductor, a wind-drag membenattacheditothe trailing end of said con-. ductor, a reel mounted on board the aircraft and having one end ofsaid linear conductorattached thereto -and means including a spring motor op-' 'erativelygconnected to said reel for permitting said conductor to be payed out and retracted in de-" pendence upon-"th'e wind resistance of *said" drag member. V 7

3. A device accordance-*with" claim: 2 and-'- spring motor and said' reel. I ,7

4. A device inacc'ordance with claim fan d havinga locking device for--attimes restraining saidreel-:Eor--turni-ng, v V

f 51 In *cQmbi-natiomWitH-a linear aerialfor use on-board 'an airer-aft; a reel operative to: wind and unwind-'-= said aerial; means including a coiled spring fon'urging"said=reel toywind'ups'aidaerial, V and means-including "a 'drag member attachedto" the outer end of said aerial, and; operative in" dependence-eupon' the' variable speed of said air craft -while in flight for= variably determining the" extent-{to which; saidaerial "shall 'bepayed i out.-

6. In adevice for holding and controlling anaircraf-t antenna a spoolmember, a linear, conductor one -end= ofwhich isattached to said spool member; an 'element offering resistance to airflow attachedto =the-othen end of said :conductor, and means-including-a=coiled spring and a gear train meehamcally associated' with said spoolmembri and-operative topermit' said antenna to be payed out bysaid "spool "member; when :the pull" of said airaflowresistance j'element' increases .and fto re- V windisaidvantenna onrsaidj'spool'member when lessenedg." 7, V a

. '7; j -In.a;deviceof .the,.c1ass. described, an'antenna.

having-' agear-train for interconnecting:said- V of. theltrailing, type, means for, winding and. un:

winding said; antenna, lm'eans attached to thetrailing end of,said.,antenn a, and operative in deriabl e pulLomthe'trailing end of. said antenna and: resilient means reactive to-said 1variable pull for urginggsaidlwinding. means to ,wind up said ,an- 7 tenna=w-hen the pu1lislessened and for, permitting so" the antennaeto: beipayed out; when the pull is increased,

WYLIE GQLCGUEL 7 

